


remember me

by aileenwood



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hurt Peter Parker, Misunderstandings, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Temporary Amnesia, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, the author is not that sure how amnesia works
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-09-13 12:46:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16892880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aileenwood/pseuds/aileenwood
Summary: "Glad you're back," he smiles, and Peter can see the raw relief in it.My kid.Oh, of course. That's his dad."or:After a particularly bad injury, Peter wakes up in a hospital room with a blank mind.He's lost and confused until a man steps in, ruffles his hair and smiles gently.He immediately guesses that's his father, obviously. He's not stupid.





	1. 1

When he opens his eyes, he's alone. 

 

He's in an unfamiliar room, laying down on a pretty soft bed, hearing a distant beeping noise coming from somewhere on his right. There's a TV attached to the wall right in front of him, a small empty table directly underneath it. Everything's white.

 

Peter in other circumstances would turn around to have a look at the rest, but the mere act of blinking makes his head pound against his skull. Breathing hurts a bit too, and the lights filtering through the thin curtains make his eyes sting. His limbs ache when he squirms underneath the blanket covering his body, and he frowns.

 

What happened to him, again? He can't remember. 

 

Actually, quite terrifyingly, when Peter tries to remember anything at all but his name, he finds that he just…  _ can't _ . His heartbeat suddenly picks up at the sudden memory blackout, his breathing gradually getting more rapid as he tries to remember  _ anything _ , until something finally flashes through his mind - a color. 

 

Red.

 

Oh, yeah, his suit. His Spider-man suit. 

 

He's Spider-man.

 

Okay.

 

The anxiety doesn't dissipate immediately, though the memory of his secret identity relieves a portion of it - he recalls he's not supposed to tell anyone about it, and that he spends the rest of the time in… school? All at once he remembers snapshots of white and blue corridors, loud noises of laughter and conversations, of some kind of deadline he was stressed about. 

 

Yup, definitely school. 

 

Peter tries to recall names next, but he stops after a few minutes when it only serves to worsen his headache. He can’t remember faces either, despite having a faint idea of what his school and suit look like. Frustrated, he attempts to relax back onto the fluffy pillows, guessing that something must've happened while he was out as Spider-man. A faint voice at the back of his head tells him it's not the first time something like this happens.

 

There are sudden footsteps right outside the room. 

 

Peter closes his eyes, but the door doesn't open yet. Instead, he hears muffled voices talking hurriedly to each other.

 

"-you know I  _ can't  _ do this right now. My kid has been out of it for days now and I need to be around in case something happens, because I'm all he's got for the time being. So, no, talk to Pepper, see if she can go downtown for this, because I have to stay here for now," one of the voices is rambling away. Not only the voice instantaneously rings a bell in Peter's mind, but some of the things it says also catch his attention.

 

_ My kid? _ Is he someone's kid? 

 

"Yes, Boss," a second voice sighs, and Peter hears footsteps fading away.

 

The door opens.

 

This time, Peter's curiosity gets the best of him. It's only been a few minutes at most since he's woken up, but his lack of memory and the consequent confusion are killing him on the inside. He just wants to remember, see something familiar that will comfort him.

 

He fakes a soft groan and his eyes flutter open slowly. 

 

"Peter?"

 

He focus on the man who uttered his name, now standing right next to his bed. Instantly relief washes over him and Peter can breathe a little more easily at the familiar sight - he _ knows _ this man. Well, okay, not exactly, but the feeling of security and comfort that comes with the sight of him is enough to convince Peter he's definitely someone important. 

 

"Hi," he speaks for the first time ever since waking up, throat feeling unbearably dry.

 

"Jesus, you scared me for a minute here," the man says softly, surely understanding Peter might not be feeling to well. "How are you feeling?"

 

"Hurts," he answers, frowning. 

 

"Alright, I'll call your nurse right away," the man nods. "Don't move, okay?"

 

The man turns around and steps for a moment to call for Peter's nurse, like he had just said, and comes back not even a minute later. He places his hand on top of Peter's head and ruffles his hair gently. 

 

"Glad you're back," he smiles, and Peter can see the raw relief in it. 

 

_ My kid _ .

 

Oh, of  _ course _ . That's his dad. 

  
  


.

 

 

 

After the nurse checks on Peter, gives him something to relieve the pain and leaves, there’s no time to chat with his dad because he falls asleep during the next few minutes, exhaustion taking over his still healing body. 

 

The next time he opens his eyes, the lights are dim. Peter blinks the sleep away and glances sideways, finding his dad dozing off on the armchair by the window. It’s already evening; the TV is turned on and it’s playing the news, informing Peter it’s just a few minutes past eight o’clock. 

 

“Is the light bothering you?” 

 

Peter startles at the voice, looking at the opposite side of the room where a tall, big man in a suit is sitting on another armchair. His round face is familiar, and Peter frowns for a moment before it hits him. He remembers long car rides, spontaneous stops at drive-throughs and a particularly grumpy personality. 

 

“...Happy?” he asks. 

 

“The one and only,” the man frowns, glancing towards Peter’s still asleep dad before standing up and approaching the bed. “Well, I still haven’t seen you awake. How are you feelin’?” 

 

“I have a bit of a headache, but I’m fine,” he replies casually. “Really,” he adds when Happy just raises an eyebrow at him. 

 

“If you say so,” he ends up shrugging. “I was told to wake him up once you were up again,” he says, nodding towards the asleep man in the corner. “But I guess we can just leave him be since you’re okay. I don’t think he has slept since you were brought here yesterday.”

 

Peter feels guilty instantly, even though he doesn’t even remember what happened in the first place. Something tells him it's not the first time this kind of thing happens - the layout of the room he's in isn't unfamiliar. Happy must’ve understood his thoughts, because he sighs deeply before placing a hand on Peter’s shoulder. 

 

“I’m not telling you this to make you feel guilty, kid,” he says, his tone a tad more gentle. “I just want you to understand you have people who care about you, so you’ve got to learn not to be this reckless. I get that you got it from him,” Happy scoffs softly, chancing a glance towards Peter’s dad, “But you’re just a kid, yeah? And you’ve already given us way too many grey hairs.” 

 

“Yeah, sorry,” Peter shows him a small smile. “I’ll be more careful.” 

 

“Good,” Happy nods, stepping away. “I’ll get myself some coffee, you’ll be okay by yourself?” 

 

Peter nods. “Don’t worry.” 

 

“If Tony wakes up, tell him you woke up while I was away, yeah?” 

 

Peter chuckles before nodding again, watching the man turn around and leave the room. He glances towards his dad again, feeling even more enlightened now that he was reminded of his name. 

 

_ Tony _ .

 

What was it again? Tony…

 

Oh, yeah, Tony Stark. That’s it. 

 

So he’s Peter Stark, right? That sounds right to him. He’s his son, after all, what other last name would he have? 

 

Peter settles against the pillows, distracting himself with the news while some memories come back to him slowly. Red flashes again on his mind while he thinks of his dad, and that’s when he remembers Iron Man. 

 

How he did even forget it in the first place? 

 

Alright, then. He's got this. His dad’s Iron Man – Tony Stark. And he has a driver – bodyguard?  _ nanny _ ? What was his actual job again? – called Happy (who is everything but). And he’s Spider-man, known by most as Peter Stark. 

 

Well, sounds good enough so far. Seems like he doesn’t really need any help to remember his life – he’s already got the important stuff all by himself. 

  
  



	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter has no reason to believe his guess was wrong - his dad acts just like a regular dad would, after all.

Peter is gradually reminded of where he is and that the Avengers are a thing throughout the next day. After a quick look outside the window when he's coming back from a trip to the bathroom, he finally situates himself and is reminded of the Compound. He recalls the hospital he's in is simply the med bay, and that he isn't actually away from home - he has his room in the Compound, right next to his dad's. He recalls how messy it is, and how most of the walls are covered by random movie posters, and suddenly he wishes he'd get better soon - looking around his room would certainly help him remember things faster. 

 

The frequent visits he receives in the tiny room is what reminds him of the other superheroes. His dad's there with him most of the time, so Peter tries his best to hide the fact he doesn't remember any of them at first - he doesn't want to worry anyone and, after all, he's doing a great job remembering everything so far. Some people are actually pretty easy to remember, like Happy, but the problem is that Peter can't remember about anyone without seeing them face to face first - it's like his brain decided to forget everyone he's ever met, and is gradually being reminded of their existence as soon as they walk through the door.

 

The first one who comes is a tall and - extremely - buffy blond guy named Steve, who after a few minutes of awkward conversation Peter recognizes as Captain America; he recalls his deep voice reprimanding him when his dad isn't around to do so, and weirdly enough his mind makes some sort of connection with the superhero and his gym classes, but he can't figure out why. Even so, Steve's visit does end up having an use other than making Peter look like a stuttering moron in front of him, since after that Peter's mind starts to clear about the whole Avengers situation; he even recognizes Mr. Banner in a matter of seconds when he stops by to check on him. 

 

Clint is the last one to visit. At first he's just a familiar face stepping through his door with a suspiciously guilty smile, chancing a glance towards Tony working with his StarkPad in the corner before approaching Peter's bed hesitantly. He's bruised all over, especially the right side of his face and overall looks even worse than Peter.

 

"Hey, kid," he greets quietly. "How are you holding up?"

 

Peter blinks up at him, brain working at its maximum potential to try and put a name to his beaten up face. "I'm alright! Just waiting for the nurse to say I'm good to go."

 

"That's good," the man says right when Peter remembers he's Clint. Of  _ course _ . "Sorry again for what happened, you know. That was my fault."

 

Peter guesses Clint must have been involved in how he got hurt, judging by the tone of his voice and how he looks - either way, he just shakes his head with a smile. "That's okay, really. I'm fine!"

 

"Yeah, well, with how fast you heal and with your  _ dad _ over there fussing over you, I'm not really surprised," Clint smirks, and Peter hears his dad scoff, but he doesn't really get the joke. He just nods at the Avenger standing by him, offering him a reassuring smile. 

 

By the time Clint is gone, the sun is setting and a nurse enters carrying a tray with Peter's dinner. His dad steps out for a while as Peter eats, and when he comes back he smiles and announces they should be able to go the next morning right after a final check up. 

 

Peter smiles back at him, chuckling when the man ruffles his hair gently. He can't wait to go home - there are certainly a lot of things he still can't remember, and stepping back into his routine will definitely help.

 

  
  


.

 

  
  


His dad is nowhere to be seen when Peter wakes up, but Happy is there to help him with his things once Mr. Banner pops by out of nowhere to inform them he's good to go. 

 

Peter was so anxious about getting back home that he's taken back by the delicious smell of food when they step into the heroes' shared living area in the Compound. Walking around the corner while Happy puts his bag away for him, Peter finds his dad with his back turned towards him, finishing to prepare breakfast.

 

"Oh, hey there, just in time," he says after noticing Peter by chancing a look behind him. He turns around with a large plate on his hands, placing it in front of Peter who eagerly climbs and sits on one of the kitchen stools. "There you go, figured you'd be starving."

 

"You're absolutely right," Peter nods before digging in, humming satisfactorily when he tastes the eggs. "Thank you," he says in between bites.

 

"Eat first, talk later," Tony says, turning around to make himself a slightly smaller plate. He then sits right across from Peter, watching him devore his food with a look of mixed fondness and concern. "They really did starve you back there, huh?"

 

"Portions weren't enough," Peter shrugs; he still doesn't remember a lot of things, but he's sure he's used to eating more than what they gave him back at the med bay considering his ridiculously fast metabolism.

 

"You could've told me," the older man tells him, starting to eat his own breakfast. 

 

"It's okay, you were already worried enough."

 

"Well, that's my job," Tony sighs. He then looks up at something right behind Peter. "Hey, Happy, you hungry? There's enough food to feed Cap ten times over here."

 

"Don't worry, Boss," Peter hears Harry telling him from across the room. "I gotta met up with Pepper right now."

 

"Alright, see ya later," Tony nods. "Thanks for helping out with the kid."

 

Getting the hint, Peter instantly turns around. "Yeah, thank you, Happy!"

 

"Don't mention it," Happy nods with a small smile before turning away, leaving the them by themselves. 

 

"I'll have to leave in a bit too, but I should be back around three," Tony informs him. "So if you need anything, tell FRIDAY, alright? She'll send a nurse in or notify me if anything's wrong."

 

Peter blinks. He doesn't know who Friday is.

 

He then nods in response. "Okay. I'll be fine."

 

"You better," Tony mumbles. "You'll stay inside and rest, you hear me? You might survive falling off a building and be able to run a marathon the following day, but Bruce said you have to take it easy for a while. So, call Ted to come over or whatever, but no patrols for a while, alright?"

 

Peter nods dutifully. He doesn't know who Ted is either, but he wasn't planning on going on a patrol that soon; he still has a lot to remember about his life first. 

 

"Okay, that was easier than what I expected," his dad hums, focusing on his own food once again, but then he adds as an second thought while squinting at Peter, "Are you  _ really _ feeling better?"

 

"Yeah, I am," Peter replies truthfully; his body isn't hurting anymore even though it's a bit sore. He also has the feeling that there's something really important missing, but he shakes the thought away - he doesn't remember a lot of stuff right now, so it's not a surprise. "Just kinda tired, that's all."

 

Tony hums then shrugs. "Well, Bruce said you're fine. Try taking a nap or something, yeah?"

 

Peter nods, stopping himself before speaking with his mouth full once again. 

  
  


 

.

  
  


 

Once Tony leaves, Peter goes to his room and closes the door behind him. There's not much to look at, despite the mess; he has his desk full of papers and books, probably from previous study sessions before the incident, and then his phone, which he found inside the first drawer. He still has the old version without the Touch ID feature, and he doesn't remember the password, so it's no use trying to get information from it despite knowing that it probably contains everything he's wondering about. 

 

Including Friday and Ted. Who the hell are they? 

 

After looking through his desk and his backpack he found underneath the bed, Peter finally has a look inside the closet and finds his suit. He gasps, all at once remembering Karen, and instantly slips the mask on.

 

The system is quickly brought to life, and a soft feminine voice speaks into his ears. 

 

" _ Hello, Peter _ ."

 

"Karen! Hey!"

 

" _ It seems like you're feeling better _ ."

 

"Yeah, yeah, I'm doing fine," he bats his hand, walking backwards until his knees hit the edge of his bed and he falls onto his back. "Listen, can you play back how I got hurt? I hit my head pretty badly and I can't remember some stuff."

 

" _ Of course _ ."

 

A rectangular display appears right in front of Peter's eyes, showing him the view from the top of a building downtown. There are some weird drone-like creatures flying around him, and sudden voice suddenly screams, " _ I got you, kid! _ "

 

Peter recognizes the voice as Clint's even though the man doesn't appear in the video, meaning Peter didn't look back at him at the time. His past self then shots taser webs at some of the drones, taking them down, but he then suddenly yelps; his vision tilts and he starts falling from the building - he tries shooting some webs to its lateral, but he's out of them and keeps falling until he hits the ground. The video tilts disturbingly, then he hears a bunch of people screaming his superhero name and the image blacks out, showing the ceiling of his room once again. 

 

"Uh, that was embarrassing."

 

" _ Indeed. _ "

 

"Well, I'm good now," he shrugs. "I guess something got me from the back. I just don't remember some stuff. Can you help me?"

 

" _ Of course _ ."

 

"Well, Dad mentioned a Friday and a Ted? And I don't really remember who they are?"

 

" _ Mr. Stark must have been talking about FRIDAY, the IA that runs the compound and assists him. You can ask her for help anytime you want by calling her name out loud. There are no records of a Ted in my system, but he must have been talking about Ned Leeds. He's your friend from school." _

 

Oh my god. _ Ned _ .

 

"Oh, yeah, yeah, I remember him now! Oh my god, I feel so bad."

 

" _ It seems like you have not shared your condition with Mr. Stark yet. I highly advise you talking with him, Peter _ ."

 

"Nah, I'm fine," he reassures his IA, placing his hands behind his head. "I got all the important stuff down already. This is kinda fun, actually. I feel like I'm a detective of my own life."

 

" _ It really does seem fun. _ "

 

"See, Karen? Now you get it."

  
  


.

 

 

Even though playing Sherlock Holmes is quite exciting, it doesn't cancel out the fact that Peter's still hurt, recovering from a quite bad concussion. He chats with Karen and then walks around and explores the empty quarters for a while before starting to get sleepy, sensing the start of a headache on the back of his head. Begrudgingly, he finds the way back to his room and climbs underneath the covers, closing his eyes and falling asleep in a matter of a few minutes. 

 

When his eyes flutter open, there's no light filtering through the gap underneath the curtains covering the windows anymore - he must've slept through most part of the afternoon, then.

 

Peter stretches lazily underneath the covers, groaning while bringing a hand up to rub the sleep out of his eyes. 

 

"FRIDAY?" he calls out around a yawn.

 

" _ Yes, Peter? _ " a voice coming from the ceiling answers, making him startle. 

 

He chuckles at himself sleepily, groaning again and rolling over to lay on his stomach. "Where's dad?" he asks, voice muffled against his pillow. "Is he back yet?"

 

" _ Mr. Stark is currently working in his lab downstairs. _ "

 

"Hm, kay, thanks," he says, rolling over again but to slip his legs out of the bed this time. He sits down on the edge of the mattress, stretching his arms above his head before standing up slowly, feeling his head starting to pound. "Still not gone," he mutters to himself sadly, rubbing his hands up and down his face. He  _ hates _ it when his head hurts. 

 

FRIDAY guides him downstairs to the lab after he asks for directions while making sure no one's around to hear him, and soon enough he's walking down a brightly-lit corridor that makes his eyes sting. He finds the glass door to the lab easily enough, the place suddenly looking familiar. 

 

He spots Tony sitting behind a desk full of robotic limbs, wires and random pieces of metal before even stepping in. Once he does, he has the man's attention, who doesn't hide a laugh at the sight of him.

 

"Look who's woken up from their beauty sleep," he greets, swivelling around in his chair to face Peter. "Feeling better?"

 

"Not really," Peter answers, his voice sounding hoarse. "Head still hurts."

 

His dad hums, his smirk quickly morphing into a sympathetic smile. "You hate it when your head hurts, don't you," he sighs, turning around again to open a drawer underneath the table. "Luckily Banner delivered some fresh painkillers this afternoon, just for you," he informs Peter, pulling out a transparent bottle full of yellow-colored pills. He drags his chair closer to Peter and drops a pill on the boy's palm, then grabs a water bottle resting on top of his desk and hands it to him. "You should feel better now."

 

"Thanks," Peter says after swallowing it down. "What time is it? Did I sleep for too long?"

 

"It's half past seven," Tony informs him, suddenly starting to put his things away. "What do you think of ordering some pizza, hm? Eating should help the pain, too."

 

Peter's mouth waters just at the thought. "Yes, please," he replies, to which his dad chuckles. He stands up, ruffling Peter's hair as gently as always and places a hand on his shoulder, leading him towards the door.

 

Just like that, Peter's already feeling ten times better. 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> why FRIDAY and Karen won't correct him?? where is may?? guess you'll have to stick around to find out :D
> 
> i wasn't really planning on updating this so quickly but the last chapter was Really short since it was just a prologue of sorts, so here i am once again,, still, since the chapter word count will always be between 2-3k, i'll probably update multiple times per week!
> 
> this chapter was kind of a filler and things will start to go downhill fairly quickly soon enough, but i just wanted to point out this fic is intended to be more fluff than anything, so please don't expect lots of angst! i'll save it for another fic :-) 
> 
> also thanks for the all the kudos and comments left on the last chapter!


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somehow, Peter gets away with calling Tony his dad every single time.

Peter supposes most of the team was out training during the day, because once he and Tony head upstairs to where they had breakfast that morning, they find the room quite crowded. They cheer when Tony mentions pizza, and soon enough a discussion starts on what movie they’re going to play for the night, so loudly that Peter’s still sensitive head spins. 

 

His dad steps outside to be able to hear what he’s ordering on the phone and Steve, who’s sitting by himself in the corner of the room while watching the team amusedly, gestures for Peter to join him. 

 

“Hey, guys, can we keep it down?” he speaks up, placing a heavy hand on Peter’s shoulder bracingly as the boy sits down. It only takes the rest of the team a minute to notice Peter before lowering down their voices, and while he’s grateful, he can’t help but feel a little bit embarrassed. Steve then turns to him once again, sporting a friendly smile. "So, how are you feeling?"

 

"Better," Peter tells him while looking down at his lap awkwardly, still scared he'll said something that will expose his memory loss. One of the few things he remembers about Steve is that the guy is  _ extremely _ observant. "Just kinda tired."

 

"Yeah, I can imagine," Steve nods thoughtfully. "Well, you can ask me if you need anything, and the same goes for the rest of the team, alright? We want to see you feeling well again soon - you and Tony were missed today during training."

 

This makes Peter crack a smile and shoot an excited look a Steve. "Yeah?"

 

"Of course," Steve smiles. "It wasn't as fun. But I agree with him when he says you're still not in shape to train just yet, and I understand that he wants to stick around you for the time being."

 

"Yeah, dad's still super worried, but I'm feeling a lot better now," Peter nods, chancing a glance towards Tony who was just stepping into the room once again. After a few long seconds of silence, he turns around to look at Steve, only to find the superhero frowning. "What?"

 

Steve then shakes his head as if it's nothing, suddenly smiling amusedly at something Peter just doesn't get. Does Steve think he's lying? Because he's truly feeling way better than he did that morning, despite the headache from hell.

 

"It's nothing," the man brushes it off, patting Peter on the shoulder before standing up. "I think you're still a bit out of it, but it's alright. You hit your head pretty hard, huh?"

 

"What?" Peter asks confusedly, staring up at him. He's not lying, he's fine!

 

Steve only chuckles, approaching the rest of the team arranging themselves on the couches and armchairs around the huge TV. Tony walks towards him then while pocketing his phone, sitting down on Steve's previous spot. 

 

"Don't worry kid, backup is on the way," he informs Peter, casting a judging look at the mess the team is making. "And they say I'm the childish one."

 

Peter snorts, placing his arms on table in front of him before resting his head on top of them. "It's taking  _ too long _ ," he complains, voice coming out muffled when he turns his head down. "I'm so hungry-"

 

"You're a drama queen, that's what you are," he hears Tony chuckle, then feels fingers brushing against the top of his head. "Come on, let's get a good spot before they make us sit on the floor."

 

 

.

  
  
  


 

Thirty minutes later, they're fifteen minutes into  _ Interstellar _ , Peter's already eaten three big slices and he can't barely keep his eyes open. It doesn't make a lot of sense since it hasn't been that long at all since he's woken up from his particularly long nap, but he guesses that's what a concussion does to you. He's still too hungry to fall asleep though, so he keeps on munching on the delicious pizza Tony chose while trying to focus on the movie, though while barely processing what is truly going on.

 

It really sucks, because other than not being able to focus on  _ Interstellar  _ \- one of the best movies ever made according to his and Ned's list, of which Peter was reminded of a few minutes into the movie -, he remembers that movie nights don't happen that often, especially with the whole team involved like this. But he can't help it; as soon as he finishes the fifth slice and his hungry stomach is satiated, his eyes close on their own and his head tilts sideways, resting on his dad's shoulder.

 

It's all a bit weird after that. He's kind of dizzy and confused because he's trying to fight sleep  _ and _ unintentionally falling back asleep at the same time, and the food was so warm and good that it made Peter feel even sleepier. Therefore, when someone shakes him awake gently, he doesn't even get what they're telling him in the first place.

 

"W…What?" he slurs, blinking groggily.

 

"It's bedtime kid, you're exhausted," he hears his dad's voice, and suddenly he's being pulled up to his feet. He blinks around, notices the movie it's still playing and feels a few pairs of eyes on him. "You're good on your own?"

 

Peter nods slowly, still quite dazed. "Y-Yeah, I'm… good," he murmurs, looking around and trying to figure out which way to go.

 

"Alright, sweet dreams," he hears his dad say behind him when he turns around to get out of the way of the rest of the team still watching the movie. 

 

He only turns around and blinks at the spot he  _ thinks _ Tony was sitting with him, mumbling a  _ goodnight, dad _ , before turning and walking away once again. He hears the team snickering behind him but he can't figure out why, he's simply confused to why he's in the kitchen and not the corridor that leads to his room and-

 

"You're really exhausted, aren't you," his dad is suddenly by his side, placing his hands on his shoulders with a deep sigh and guiding him towards the opposite side of the room. He doesn't sound annoyed, just a bit concerned, and he leads Peter all the way to his room.

 

The last thing Peter remembers before he completely shuts down is another soft  _ goodnight _ before the door to his room is closed and he's submerged in soothing darkness.

  
  


 

.

  
  


 

FRIDAY's soft voice wakes him up the next day.

 

" _Good morning, Peter_ ," she says, sounding quite cheerful. " _Boss asked me to wake you up. Breakfast is ready_."

 

Peter hums something back sleepily, hoping FRIDAY will understanding he's saying he'll be up in a minute. He rolls around in bed and stretches underneath the covers for a while until he finally sits up. A few more minutes later he gets out of bed, brushes his teeth and washes his face in the bathroom, and then stumbles out of the room, still feeling he's half-asleep.

 

Peter notices most of the team is occupying the room once he steps in, but he finds he doesn't care. He just mumbles something back at their _good morning_ 's and sits down next to Steve, who's reading the morning newspaper and finishing a cup of coffee. He buries his face on his arms on top of the table, blissfully closing his eyes for a few seconds. He's still so _tired_.

 

"Have you ever heard of this thing called a hairbrush?" he hears his dad's voice, and the sound of a plate being placed in front of him. "It's pretty useful. I think you'd love it."

 

"Ha ha," he replies, raising his head and stretching his arms above his head with a groan. He then looks at the plate in front of him and offers a smile up to Tony, "Thank you."

 

Tony nods and smiles back at him before turning away. He's already fully dressed - apparently he's already eaten, and is probably heading out for some kind of meeting downtown, like the one on the previous day. 

 

Peter raises his head briefly when someone sits down across from him on the table, and finds it's just Clint. "'Morning, kid," he greets Peter, starting to eat from his own plate. "Feeling better? You were pretty out of it last night."

 

"Yeah," Peter nods, a bit embarrassed. "I was really tired."

 

"It was endearing," Natasha comments, leaning forwards to grab the jar of orange juice placed near Peter's plate, offering him a playful smirk. He tries his best not to blush. "But a pity that you had to leave so early."

 

"You were fine," Steve joins. "My head has already messed up with me more ways than I can count. I once woke up in the med bay and for some reason thought Nat was my nurse."

 

Peter isn't really sure how that connects to what happened the previous night, but he joins the others and laughs anyways. 

 

"Don't even remind me of that," Natasha rolls her eyes. 

 

Mr. Banner chooses this time to step into the room, looking around until his eyes meet Peter's. He smiles. 

 

"Good morning, guys," he greets them, approaching the table. "Peter, after you're done, do you mind heading meeting me in the med bay for a quick check up? I gotta see how your head's doing."

 

Peter nods dutifully, stopping himself before speaking with his mouth full. He shows Mr. Banner two thumbs up. 

 

"Great," he nods. "Where is Tony, by the way?"

 

"Right here," Tony answers, stepping out of the corridor that leads to his and Peter's room, now wearing some shades and holding his phone on his right hand. "I'm about to leave. Everything's good?"

 

"Yeah, just needed to talk to you about the last run we made in the lab..."

 

Peter pays gradually less attention to the two scientists' conversation as they head towards the elevators, deciding to focus on his breakfast indead, but he instantly raises his head when Tony suddenly calls his name.

 

"Peter, I should be back later, yeah? These guys over there will be training today as well, but you know how to call if anything happens."

 

He offers two thumbs up once again, receiving Tony's satisfied nod as a response before he and Mr. Banner finally leave the room. 

 

Tony's remark seem to have reminded to the team that they have to start their training session, so they all end up finish eating rather quickly before waving Peter goodbye. Once they're gone, he finishes his own food leisurely before putting his plate away and heading to his room to change his clothes in order to meet with Mr. Banner.

 

FRIDAY guides him through the Compound to Mr. Banner's lab which is near the med bay. The doctor seems to have been waiting for Peter, because as soon as he sees the boy approaching through the glass door, he stands up from his seat with a smile.

 

"Peter," he greets once he's inside, gesturing to an examining table in the corner of the large room. "Let's get done with this, shall we?"

 

Peter has never enjoyed trips to the doctor, but he finds that he doesn't mind at all when it's Mr. Banner. Not only the guy is one of the scientists he admires the most in the world, but he doesn't mind when Peter chats his jittery away, talking about anything he can think of - actually, Mr. Banner doesn't even seem to be paying attention, looking more concerned about examining a bruise on Peter's side than how the boy spent the previous day back at home from the med bay.

 

"-and then Dad ordered some pizza for everyone, but you were there anyways so it's not like you don't know that happened, so I did eat a lot which was one of the main things the nurses told me to do once I was good to go, so you don't have to worry about that, Mr. Banner, I'm actually eating better ever since they let me go because they actually didn't get my portions right-"

 

"Uh huh," Mr. Banner hums absentmindedly, frowning down at the bruise. He pokes Peter with something cold. "Does this hurt?"

 

"Not really," Peter answers, interrupting his own speech. 

 

"Hm, okay," Mr. Banner nods. He then steps back after a few moments, turning the bright light on top of the table that was previously shining on Peter's body. "I guess we're good then. Everything's healing like it's supposed to. At least for your enhanced body, that is," Mr. Banner informs him. "Sorry, that took a while," he winces, looking down at the watch on his wrist. "Tony must even be back by now."

 

"Oh, it's been that long already?" Peter asks, genuinely surprised. Spending time with Mr. Banner was fun, even though he did most of the talking. "I didn't even notice!"

 

"Yeah, it's lunch time already," Mr. Banner says, putting his stuff away. "Should we head up?"

 

"Yes, let's go," Peter nods, suddenly feeling hungry at the mention of food. 

 

They walk down the corridor together and after waiting a few moments for the elevator, the door opens, revealing Clint and Sam standing together inside. 

 

"Oh, hello there, Doc. Peter," Sam smirks, raising a hand to ruffle Peter's hair a bit roughly, earning a reproachful look from Bruce and a laugh from the boy. "Watcha doing, looking for you  _ dad _ ?"

 

"Actually, yeah," Peter blinks up at him after brushing his curls from his face. "Have you seen him?"

 

Sam stares at him, suddenly looking very disappointed. "You know, you're sucking the fun out of the joke. Can't you act mad like before?"

 

Peter frowns confusedly. "What?"

 

"Nevermind," Sam huffs. "Haven't seen him. We just got back from training."

 

" _ Boss has actually just entered his lab _ ," FRIDAY suddenly informs them. " _ Should I inform him you're looking for him _ ?"

 

"No, thanks FRIDAY," Peter says as the elevator comes to a stop, and they enter their shared living area. "Just tell him we're having lunch!"

 

"Yup," Clint nods. "And he's gonna get nothing if he doesn't hurry."

  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in conclusion, peter's still clueless
> 
> i'm trying to drag this whole oblivious peter situation for as long as i can, but realistically speaking (not that this fic has anything of realistic in it lol) he's going to find out there's something wrong sooner or later so,, just a heads up :D i'm planning to include tony's pov very soon, too! 
> 
> keep tuned if you wish to see how this mess will come to an end. next chapter should be up this weekend!
> 
> (i haven't pointed this out yet but this fic doesn't have a beta reader, it's just me and my terrible - or rather lack of - editing skills so sorry about any mistakes)


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ever since he's met Peter Parker, Tony hasn't had a single prolonged moment of peace.

After undergoing surgery to remove the bomb fragments near his heart and then throwing away the useless arc reactor, Tony thought he was safe from heart-related issues. 

 

After meeting Peter Parker, he was proved wrong. 

 

_ So _ wrong.

 

The kid has the impressive talent of driving him crazy. At first Tony didn't care that much; even though he had built the suit, they weren't that really close and Tony only intervened when it was really necessary - well, consequently leaving the rest to Happy. Still, things changed after the whole Vulture thing, and he realized Peter was really something else. The kid needed someone to keep him on check constantly, especially now that his aunt knows about the whole Spider-man thing. 

 

And, speaking of May and troublesome children, Tony _ still _ isn't sure of what to do with the whole terrible situation he currently finds himself in. Peter's under his care for the month; both the kid and his aunt are in vacation, and while she's gone spend it in a cruise with some coworkers, Tony offered Peter the opportunity to come train with the team, learn some tricks and hopefully work on some updates for his suit. May was all for it; ever since she found out the truth, she's been constantly asking Tony to train Peter, make sure he's prepared. At first he was a bit hesitant, because ever since he had made up with the rest of the team, he knew that _ anything  _ could set them off again. Still, a mere dirty look from May and a reminder that he had put her fifteen-year-old in danger without letting her now was enough to convince him - hence his generous offer to babysit the kid during summer vacation.

 

It turned out to be a pretty good idea. The team  _ loved  _ Peter even though at first they were are quite scandalized by his age, and they bonded just like Tony had hoped during the first two weeks. However, a mission ended up disturbing their peace, the kid insisted on coming and ended up badly hurt - almost making Tony pass out at the sight of him laying motionless after falling from ten stories - and he was out of it for several hours. 

 

Not really the ideal summer vacation plans.

 

The problem is he really doesn't want to worry May. It took a little while for him to admit it to himself, but he likes spending time with the kid. Rhodey, Pepper and Happy always joke he's somehow Tony's long lost son, since somehow the both of them click together really well and could spend hours working on the lab without getting distracted, but still, Tony's  _ not _ his dad. The kid has his aunt, and if he messes up, it might be the last time they get to do something like this.

 

Besides, they have some of the best doctors in the world working in the Compound, and Peter ended up just fine. He's still acting a bit weird, less chatty than usual, but it's _fine_. Tony even forgave him for every time he called him dad by accident, which even though was quite endearing, was also a bit worrying. It could only mean the kid's often feeling exhausted, and considering his enhanced body, it definitely shouldn't be a thing.

 

So, just to make sure, he hangs out with the kid more often, asking about his head, reminding him to take his medicine and of his bedtime, making sure he's eating the monstrous portions his metabolism needs per meal, and everything in between. Peter doesn't seem to mind - rather, he acts as if Tony's behaviour is actually quite normal, and so it gets easier and more natural as the days pass by.

 

Still, there's one thing there's still quite off in all of this. 

 

The patrols.

 

Peter hasn't shown any interest in patrolling lately. Two days after the kid came back from the med bay, Tony asked for his suit so he could update the whole parachute situation since it is still clearly malfunctioning, judging by the bandage wrapped around Peter's head. While Tony was expecting some whining and failed attempts at being convinced that  _ it's fine, he doesn't need a parachute _ , Peter just handed him the suit with a mere shrug.

 

It's like he doesn't even remember about Queens.

 

Tony just brushed it off, guessing the kid's head is still heading and he doesn't feel that good just yet. He still has the feeling something wrong though, and he reminds himself to keep an eye open. 

 

Three days after Peter returns from the med bay, the day after the movie night, Tony's working down in the lab when suddenly FRIDAY notifies him Peter's coming in. He frowns - it's past the kid's bedtime, and after dinner he was complaining about a headache. Still, if anything was truly wrong, FRIDAY would have let him know.

 

He watches Peter curiously when he steps into the lab, looking around with bright eyes like he always does when he visits Tony's workspace. 

 

"Sup, kid? Shouldn't you be sleeping?" he asks casually, turning his attention down to the suit turned inside out on top of his desk. 

 

"I couldn't fall asleep," Peter replies, having a look around before approaching Tony and having a seat on the other side of the table. "What are you doing?"

 

"Fixing this damn parachute," Tony mumbles. "It was working perfectly when I first tested it. What did'ya do?"

 

"Nothing!" Peter replies defensively. "I guess it just didn't work well 'cause… You know, uh, I never get myself in situations where I need it. So, you know, uh, it didn't work because I never need it anyways."

 

Tony stares at him. "Yeah, right," he scoffs. "I'm gonna find out exactly what you did, mister," he shakes his head, turning his focus back to the suit. "While you're here, why don't you work on that project of yours? That might help tiring you enough to sleep."

 

"Oh, yeah, sure, my project," Peter nods, swivelling around in his chair to look around. "Uh..."

 

Tony pauses and raises a brow. "You lost it?"

 

"Uh,  _ no _ ," Peter replies with a scoff. "I just don't… remember where I put it."

 

Tony rolls his eyes. "FRIDAY, help the kid, will ya?"

 

Peter eventually finds the drone he was working on and settles on a table across the lab, right where he usually seats when working on his little projects, or when he visits the Compound but still needs to get homework done. He told Tony that for some reason he prefers getting it done down here than in his assigned bedroom upstairs, saying it distracts him less. 

 

Tony doesn't understand how him running several tests for his suits doesn't distract the hell out of the kid, but Peter's grades are still flawless at school, so he doesn't really have anything to complain about. 

 

The noise of tools being picked up and put down are the only thing filling the silence as they work. Tony eventually regains all of his focus, and he doesn't really pay much attention to Peter, until when at some point he finally raises his head and finds the kid sleeping on top of the table.

 

He snorts, leaving his workspace as it is, and stands up to shake Peter awake and put him to bed. He pauses before resting his hand on Peter shoulder though, taking in how the kid looks so peaceful, and feeling bad for making him move. What if he doesn't manage to fall asleep again? 

 

Still, he's not Steve. He can't carry the kid all the way upstairs.

 

With a resigned sigh, he shakes Peter gently. "Pete, c'mon, time to go to bed."

 

Peter mumbles sleepily, barely opening his eyes as he slowly raises his head. "W...What..."

 

Tony sighs again, sensing this is going to be a repeat of yesterday's movie night. "FRIDAY, dim all the lights by 70% for me. Including the ones on the way to the kid's bedroom, alright?" once that's one, he looks down at Peter, who's sleepily rubbing at his eyes. "C'mon, up you go, it's half past two already."

 

Peter stands up without putting up a fight when Tony pulls him up by his wrist, and soon he has his hands on the boy's shoulders, leading him out of the lab.

 

Once inside the elevator, Peter leans heavily against him, looking like he might fall asleep again at any given second. "We're almost there bud, you got this," Tony mutters. 

 

Peter mumbles something intelligible back, almost stumbling on his own feet as he's gently lead out of the elevator. From there is a short walk to his bedroom, and Tony successfully manages to lead Peter to his bed and throw the covers on top of him. 

 

It looks like he's fallen asleep the second his head touches the pillow, but once Tony half-heartedly and quietly wishes him goodnight on his way out, he hears a soft, barely there, "'Night, dad," in response. 

 

He turns back and looks down at Peter with a mix of fondness and concern. The rational part of him tells him the kid is just exhausted - he _ is _ still healing from that fall, after all. Still, deep down he senses there's something more to it, and he can't figure out what. 

 

With a sigh, he steps out of the room, closing the door behind him softly.

  
  
  
  


 

. 

  
  
  


 

The following day, Tony finally founds out his senses - as usual - were right. 

 

Peter asks him that morning if it's okay for him to spend the day at Ned's house. Since the kid's already been checked out by Bruce again and everything is healing just like they're supposed to, Tony figures it's alright. He still has the suit down in his lab, so it isn't like Peter is going out as Spider-man undercover - which has happened so many times before, and Tony isn't falling for that  _ ever  _ again. He only tells the kid Happy's going to pick him up at seven so they can have dinner together, but Peter's fine with it. 

 

Therefore, after breakfast, he remains sat down on the kitchen's table as Peter chatters away about what he and Ned are up to that afternoon while packing his backpack. Apparently Ned has this new lego-thingy they're going to build, and a new video game that has just been released, but Tony's more distracted about how Peter decided that putting on his sneakers  _ while  _ standing up is an excellent idea, and he glances at the sharp corner of the coffee table fearfully every time the kid hops anywhere near it while tying his shoelaces.

 

"Kid, I'm sure you're thrilled to see your friend, but can you chill for a second? You're driving me crazy over here," Tony huffs, but Peter only finishes tying his shoelaces and smiles up at him.

 

"I'm done!" he exclaims, turning around to grab his backpack. He puts his arms through the straps in a blink of an eye, and soon enough he's running past Tony. "Happy's waiting for me! Bye, dad! See ya later!"

 

He's out in a matter of seconds, leaving a speechless Tony behind. 

 

His first thought is that the kid only said it because he's clearly distracted since he's in a hurry, but this time the chance that there's something else behind it is clearly bigger. Tony sighs for the hundredth time in the last twenty-four hours, rubbing his face with his hand before tilting his head up tiredly. 

 

"FRIDAY?" he calls, already fearing what he'll hear. 

 

"Yes, boss?"

 

"Tell me," be begins hesitantly, thanking god no one from the team is around to hear. "Has Peter been calling me… dad often, lately?"

 

"I'm afraid so," FRIDAY answers, almost sounding apologetic. "He's been referring to you as so ever since he returned from the med bay."

 

Tony frowns. "How did you even know he was referring to me?"

 

"Peter has accidentally referred to you as so accidentally a few times in the past, so I reprogrammed myself to interpret it as him asking about you," FRIDAY replies. 

 

"...Okay," he nods. "But why this, now? Do you have any idea?"

 

"It seems like Peter is suffering from temporary amnesia due to his head injury. I had no way to make sure of it since he hasn't shared his condition with anyone, so I didn't notify you. However, it means he figured his life's details and his relationships on his own."

 

"But he assumed I'm his  _ dad _ ?"

 

"You are the one looking after him and you have a close relationship, so it must have seemed the only logical explanation."

 

"Oh my god," Tony says, covering his face in his hands again to muffle a loud groan. 

 

Honestly, Peter mistaking him as his dad is kind of adorable. It only shows how innocent he is, and that he truly feels safe around Tony and at home in the Compound, but the fact he's so stubborn and didn't think it was concerning enough to share his condition with anyone is nothing but  _ stupid _ . What if he found himself in a situation where he needed to know something important, but didn't because of the amnesia? What if Tony had never found out? 

 

What about  _ May _ ? 

 

If he thinks Tony is his dad, what does he even think about his aunt? The signal is pretty shitty in the cruise and she hasn't been able to call often to see how Peter's doing, but if they were in contact during these past three days, what did Peter even say? Does he remember she's his aunt, and thinks he lives with Tony? Does he remember her at all? 

 

This is a mess Tony wasn't expecting. At all. 

 

To make it all worse, now it's up to him to find a way of telling Peter he's got it all wrong without embarrassing the kid and traumatizing him for life. He's a teenager after all, and the last thing Tony wants is things to be awkward between them. 

 

Peter  _ is _ family, and he's pretty much Tony's non-official kid at this point, but having him running around calling him dad isn't going to do them any good.

 

He stands up from the table slowly, mind occupied as he plans something to say as soon as the kid comes back. That is, unless he finds out on his own at his friend's house.

  
  
  
  


 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know i was supposed to post it during the weekend, my bad! i just got very busy, so i couldn't really finish the chapter :o
> 
> but here we are! so, i hadn't added may to the tags since i didn't want to spoil it, but she's not going to be a major character anyways since the remaining chapters are all going to take place while she's still gone. so don't worry! 
> 
> this fic is clearly not meant to be angsty but please expect emotional talks very soon. stay tuned :D


	5. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ned is the ultimate truth bomb.

Peter swears Ned is a bit teary-eyed when they first meet at the latter's doorstep that morning and do their handshake. It's kind of funny how he keeps sniffling, and once it ends steps forwards to wrap Peter in a bone-crushing hug.

 

"Oh, man," he huffs, taken by surprise, then raises a hand to pat his friend bracingly on his back. "I'm fine, dude. I didn't die."

 

"You almost did!" Ned replies, finally guiding him away from the doorstep and upstairs to his bedroom. "Mom and dad went downtown, by the way," he comments as they climb up the stairs. "But anyways - you didn't even call! Or answer my texts!"

 

"It's a long story," Peter sighs as they enter Ned's bedroom, already knowing that hiding anything from his best friend won't work. He guesses that the reason why he remembered the handshake is because they do it way too often, but there are probably many inside jokes and whatnot that he doesn't remember, and knowing Ned, Peter knows he won't just brush it off.

 

He places his backpack on the foot of Ned's bed and then sits down, taking it the suddenly very familiar room - the several random lego projects, the bookshelf filled with mangas and TV show DVDs, the messy desk supporting a pile of AP textbooks, the Star Wars posters… it all screams _Ned_ , and Peter wonders how he even forgot about this room in the first place.

 

"What's up?" Ned asks, walking across the room to sit down on the chair on his desk. "I only found out you got hurt because Mr. Stark texted me to tell me you were fine, but couldn't use your cell phone - I didn't even know he had my number!"

 

Peter scoffs, amused, and slightly weirded out by how formally Ned refers to his dad. He then shrugs. "It's good in case of emergencies," he guesses. "But, well, I gotta tell you something, man. No one knows about it."

 

"Oh my god, what happened?" Ned whispers, using his feet planted on the ground to roll his chair closer to Peter. "Are you still hurt?"

 

"Kind… of," Peter replies thoughtfully. But then he fixes Ned with a hard glare. "You can't tell it to anyone. Promise?"

 

Ned nods quickly. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course. What is it?"

 

Peter takes a deep breath, and then begins explaining while lowering his voice, "After I got hurt, they brought me to the med bay and apparently I was out for a day or so. I hit my head pretty hard, but the real problem is that, when I woke up, I couldn't remember anything."

 

Ned gapes, and then blinks once. "Are you serious?"

 

Peter nods solemnly. "Yes."

 

"Oh my _god_ ," Ned mutters, his eyes widening. "And then what? You didn't remember _me_?"

 

"I didn't remember anything at first," Peter nods. "But then I started remembering stuff and people, and since I didn't worry anyone even more, no one knows about it. But I got mostly everything, so it's cool now."

 

"Oh my- what- I didn't- I thought-"

 

"Chill, man," Peter chuckles. "It's fine now."

 

"But you gotta tell me everything you know!" Ned insists. "Or what you _think_ you know. What if you got anything wrong?"

 

Peter rolls his eyes. "It's seriously fine," he reassures his friend. He looks up thoughtfully, counting down on his fingers all the things he remembered at first. "Look, I remembered dad and Happy right away. Then there was Steve and the rest of the team, that was fine, and then I looked out of the window and remembered the Compound right away-"

 

"Wait."

 

Peter looks down at Ned, only to find him frowning. "What?"

 

"Who did you say you remember right away?"

 

"Uh, dad and Happy. They were pretty easy."

 

Ned raises a hand towards him as if to tell him to wait a second, but when he opens his mouth to speak he seemingly chokes on air.

 

Peter chuckles, but deep inside he's a bit weirded out by the reaction. "What?"

 

"Peter," Ned finally says, taking a deep breath. "Are you talking about Mr. Stark?"

 

It's Peter's turn to frown, and he looks down at Ned as if he's grown another head. "No, Ned, I'm talking about War Machine," he replies sarcastically. "We look so much alike."

 

" _Peter_ ," Ned repeats. "Mr. Stark is not your dad."

 

It's like the floor is swept out from underneath Peter's feet. He feels his heart suddenly clench and then race, rammering against his chest, but he attempts to stay focused on Ned. "What? Of- Of course he is. Stop messing with me."

 

"No, man, he's not," Ned insists. He then widens his eyes. "Don't you remember May?"

 

The name instantly rings a bell on Peter's mind. It's like this person's identity is on the tip of his tongue but he just can't remember, even though he's certain it's someone important. He shakes his head, now feeling a bit dizzy.

 

"Oh my god, Peter, where's your phone?" Ned suddenly asks, standing up from the chair and reaching to Peter's backpack.

 

"O-On the front pocket, but I don't- I don't remember the password," he says, but watches as his friend finds his phone in a matter of seconds.

 

"I know the password," Ned tells him as he unlocks it, and then Peter watches in a tense silence as he opens the photo gallery app. Ned scrolls up for a few seconds until he finds a specific picture and then shows it to Peter.

 

On the screen there's a picture of him and a beautiful brunette woman, who was her arm around Peter's shoulders. On the background it's the Statue of Liberty, and they're both sporting happy smiles.

 

The memories all at once flood in, and Peter squints his eyes at the intensity of it. Then comes the guilt, and there's so much of it that his eyes start tearing up.

 

"Oh my god," he whispers. " _May_. How- How could I even-"

 

"It's okay, man," Ned pats his shoulder comfortingly, now sitting on the edge of the bed next to him. "She's in a cruise with some friends, and Mr. Stark watching you for the time being. You probably didn't remember her at first because she's travelling and haven't been able to call."

 

Peter sniffs, still not taking his eyes off the picture. "B-But who..." he starts, but doesn't manage to finish. Calling the man he thought as his dad for the past days 'Mr. Stark' doesn't feel right - Peter still can't remember who he really is.

 

"Who's Mr. Stark?" Ned asks gently. Peter nods. "He's kind of- well, he's your… mentor? He was the one who built your Spider-Man suit and stuff, and because of that he also takes care of you when May can't," he explains. "It's complicated, really. Even for me."

 

"I-I call him Mr. Stark?" Peter asks quietly, finally lowering down his phone.

 

Ned nods, but before he can open his mouth to add anything, Peter's phone rings on his hand. With wide eyes, he shows the screen to Ned - _Mr. Stark is calling_.

 

"What the fuck?" Ned whisper-yells, as if the man can hear them already. "We're still talking about him! This is so creepy!"

 

"Let's just- just calm down," Peter says, and they take a deep breath together.

 

With wide eyes and shaky hands, Peter accepts the call, bringing the phone to his ear. "H-Hey?"

 

" _I don't know if you remember kiddo, but the watch I gave you monitors your vitals_ ," Mr. Stark's voice flows from the phone's speaker. Peter looks down at his wrist and winces - he had forgotten about the watch. The man had given it to him this morning before he could leave, saying he was still worried about Peter's overall health and wanted to keep an eye of him, even though he wasn't wearing the suit. " _FRIDAY's telling me there's something off about your heart rate,"_ Mr. Stark continues. _"Watcha doing, huh, mister? Sneaking out?_ "

 

"N-No," Peter denies quickly, chancing a desperate glance towards Ned. "We- We're just, uh, we're watching a horror movie. There's lots of, uh, jumpscares, you know."

 

Mr. Stark pauses for a moment, then scoffs. " _Only you kids to watch a horror movie at ten in the morning_ ," he mutters. " _Well, I'll keep that in mind. Just don't do anything I wouldn't do_."

 

"Uh, sure," Peter nods, even if the man can't see it. "See ya later."

 

" _Yeah, see ya, kid_."

 

The call ends.

 

Peter exhales loudly, throws his phone on the bed behind him then buries his face on his face, muffling a frustrated yell against his palms.

 

A few moments later, he hears Ned hum thoughtfully. "I can see why you thought he was your dad."

 

  


.

 

 

Once the afternoon's over, Peter and Ned have gone through multiple digital photo albums, each with is correspondent explanation by Ned. By the end of it Peter remembers practically everything of his old life, and he suddenly misses May very much - he now knows it's been a while since they've last spoken.

 

Still, as he boards one of Mr. Stark's fancy cars when Happy comes to pick him up, he still feels there's something off. When he thinks of his mentor, the urge of referring his as his dad is still there, and Peter knows it's something he will have to fight against until he gets used to it. Right now, the best solution will be to avoid him for a while; Mr. Stark's a busy man, and Peter's now feeling better - if he invites Ned to the Compound to spend time with him often, Peter won't have to hang out with the man that much.

 

He just hopes no one has noticed it. Hopefully they have brushed off as Peter still feeling a bit off due to his concussion.

 

It's six p.m. when they finally arrive at the Compound, and FRIDAY notifies Peter that Mr. Stark is down in his lab, and the rest of the team is still finishing training. Apparently the team's assigned cook, hired by Mr. Stark not too long ago, is still in the process of making dinner for everyone, so Peter goes straight to his room to shower and spend some time by himself in his room.

 

After showering, he lays down on his bed and unlocks his phone - thanks to Ned, now he knows his password. He sends May a bunch of texts to make up for the last few silent days, and then catches up with Spider-man news online, as he usually does - random videos people have posted, their comments and whatnot.

 

An hour or so later FRIDAY announces dinner is ready and that mostly everyone is already gathered to eat, and Peter hurries to join them. He sits down between Steve and Sam, and with a pang of relief, watches as Mr. Stark enters the room and sits significantly away from him, three seats away. Because of that, they don't engage at all during the meal, and once Peter's finished with his third usual plate, he stands up to leave.

 

"Wait, Pete."

 

He turns around only to find Mr. Stark standing, having already finished his meal. Peter stands there nervously as the man approaches him and then places a hand on his shoulder.

 

"It's still early, huh? Want to head down to the lab?" he asks. "I was looking at your little project this afternoon and thought of making a few suggestions."

 

"Oh," Peter nods, avoiding the man's eyes at all costs. "I was- uh, I was thinking of calling it a day already. We did a lot at Ned's today and I'm really tired."

 

Mr. Stark hesitates for a moment before nodding. "Of course, kid. You're right, you should rest," he says, taking a step back. "Just let me know if something's up, yeah?"

 

"Sure," Peter nods, trying not to look to hurried. However, he can't help himself before blurting a quick goodnight and then escaping to his room, without chancing a look behind him once.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> firstly i'd like to apologize for the short chapter! i was planning on making it longer but i just wanted to update it sooner so i wouldn't leave you guys hanging :(
> 
> also, i should have said this sooner but thank you so much for all the kudos omg ?? this is the fifth chapter and the fic's about to hit 700 kudos like? thank you so much! i'm really happy you guys are enjoying the story, i have a lot of fun writing it :D
> 
> and finally i just wanted to say that i might post a holiday themed oneshot soon, so stay tuned in case you're interested! :o


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The whole avoiding-Mr. Stark-plan doesn't go exactly according to Peter's plans.

The next morning, Peter wakes up early. _Very_ early, actually - the sun isn’t even up yet, but since he went to bed pretty early the previous night, he’s feeling fine. He practically swallows down two bowls of his favorite cereal - which he notices with a pang of guilt that, despite being one of the most pricy brands out there, it is always available at the Compound thanks to Mr. Stark. Still, that doesn’t stop him; Peter grabs his backpack, puts on his sneakers and heads to the elevator.

 

“Hey, FRIDAY?”

 

“ _Yes, Peter?_ ”

 

“Please tell Mr. Stark I went for a walk in case he asks where I am?”

 

“ _Of course._ ”

 

“Thanks,” he says relieved, just as the elevator door opens.

 

The training grounds are located in a specific part of the Compound's territory, but there's a really long running track that snakes around the whole facility, even going through the woods in some points. There are also the underground training areas, which everyone just simply calls their gym, but Peter would be easily found if he went there.

 

Therefore, he decided to avoid the gym not only because being outside makes it harder to bump into anyone, but because somehow it makes Peter feel he's releasing all the stress he's been bottling up the past few days - he missed being outdoors and exercising. Ever since he became Spider-man, got over his asthma and every other thing that was holding him back, there wasn't a single day he wasn't out jumping and running around. However, now that that he got hurt and is under not only Mr. Stark's but the whole team's watch, he's supposed to take it easy on his body.

 

Well, a short run won't hurt anyone, right?

 

Peter finds the track easily enough, and without further ado begins sprinting without bothering to warm up. He cracks a pleased grin at the feeling of the breeze against his face, laughing when he passes ran by a few startled interns who are completing their morning exercise.

 

Before he knows it, he's completed several laps, and not even an hour has passed by. It's a new record, and as Peter comes to a halt exactly where he'd begun running, he finds it isn't enough. He's too energized, feels the adrenaline run through his body.

 

He needs something else.

 

Peter sprints inside again when he's struck by an idea. Checking the watch on his wrist, he notices it's still pretty early.

 

He stops in front of the elevators and looks up. "FRIDAY?"

 

" _Yes, Peter?"_

 

"Do you know if Mr. Stark finished updating my suit?" he asks, making sure to keep his voice down.

 

" _Yes, he finished it last night after you went to bed_ ," FRIDAY answers as Peter steps inside of the elevator.

 

"I guess he won't mind if I go grab it now, yeah?" he thinks out loud, and FRIDAY intelligently sets the elevator to go down to the labs. "Wait, is he there?"

 

" _Mr. Stark is currently sleeping. However, you have full access to his lab even while he is absent_."

 

There's the guilt again. Peter shakes his head and swallows it down, reassuring himself that it's fine. Mr. Stark told him to wait a while before going on a patrol, and it's been two days already. He's ready.

 

Once he enters the lab, he easily finds the suit on top of Mr. Stark's desk. Peter grabs it, hides behind a shelf full of Iron Man helmet prototypes and gets changed, slipping on the suit underneath his running clothes. Before stepping out of the lab, he looks at both sides to make sure he's still by himself and makes a run for the elevators once again.

 

"FRIDAY? Tell Mr. Stark I'll go visit Ned, okay?" he says.

 

" _Yes, Peter. Should I notify Happy Hogan?_ "

 

"Oh, no no no, I can go by myself, don't worry," he shakes his hands and head frenetically.

 

" _Alright. Have a safe trip_."

 

"Thank you," he beams, stepping out of the elevator and heading towards the exit door.

 

It's going to be a fun day.

  


 

 

.

 

 

 

 

Peter rides on the back of a truck and then swings all the way to Queens, which is a bit troublesome, but he manages it. Once he's there, Karen notifies him there's nothing much going on just yet, so Peter takes his time to buy a hot dog - which scares the hell out of the guy selling them, since he's still wearing his mask, - and once he's done with  _that_ , he discreetly slips on his hoodie, jeans and sneakers on top of his suit and packs his mask before heading to his and May's apartment.

 

Stepping in it's like a breath of fresh air. He takes his time looking at the family pictures framing the walls, May's weird but colorful decoration choices, the huge cooking books being displayed on the coffee table which were never really read by any of them, the worn out but comfy couches... everything. Despite managing to remember most of his past the day before with Ned, he manages to connect the few last dots by looking around the place he's lived most of his life.

 

A thought suddenly flashes through his mind, though - not all the dots are connect just yet.

 

He hasn't really figured out Mr. Stark. Their relationship is still confusing, and what he means to Peter and what Peter means to him it's still a foggy concept. For a little more than three days, he thought that man was his father, but now he isn't, and Peter doesn't remember what he used to act around him. How he felt before. And if he hangs out with him now will probably makes things weird, and that's the last thing Peter wants.

 

Coming to Queens for the day was a good idea, he decides.

 

To get rid of the gloomy thoughts, Peter heads to his room. It's similar to the one in the Compound, though smaller and way messier. He has his bunker bed, with storage plastic boxes occupying the whole top bed - he spots the Christmas decorations May decided to put up there for lack of better places, and is reminded of their past holidays other. Then, he takes a look at his old and slightly wonky desk which is partly occupied by a chess set, which Peter recalls was his tenth birthday gif - he used to play it all the time with Uncle Ben. He has a few lego projects scattered around (but not as cool as Ned's) and a few school posters hanging on the walls.

 

What really catches his eye is the low bookshelf standing in a corner, with a two portraits sitting on top. One shows a younger version of himself, May and Uncle Ben, smiling under the scorching sun with the sea in the background, and the other portrait shows a much older him and once again a beaming May, but this time they're accompanied by Mr. Stark. A tall, white building is shown in the background and Peter is carrying the golden Academic Decathlon trophy with both hands, while Mr. Stark has an around around his shoulders like a proud parent.

 

Peter sighs. He guesses he won't understand it too soon.

  


 

 

.

  


 

 

 

A few hours later, it's mid-afternoon and Peter has already helped a few people - he stopped a guy who was shoplifting the local market, he taught some incredibly young kids how to cross the road properly (seriously, where the hell were their parents?), he helped a really nice old lady to carry her groceries back to her apartment, and stopped another guy from stealing a car.

 

So, in retrospect, a really busy day.

 

He even managed to squeeze in some additional hot dog times.

 

The best part of it all is that Mr. Stark hasn't called yet, and to that there are two possible reasons why. Firstly it may be because he's already found out Peter's gone patrolling but doesn't really care, and hope he's having lots of fun, _or_ it maybe because he really believes Peter's at Ned's place (which is more probable, but whatever). The important thing is to stay out of the news and don't hurt himself, because otherwise Mr. Stark will find out through the news, or Karen will tell on him if he's hurt in any way.

 

Thankfully Peter remembered to take off his watch back at the Compound, so Mr. Stark can't really track him or monitor his vitals through it. He can do it through the suit, obviously, but if he thinks Peter isn't using it, he won't bother to do so.

 

There's still the possibility that Mr. Stark will notice the suit is gone, but Peter recalls he had a few meetings today, so he shouldn't not be checking the lab so soon.

 

So, while everything goes according to plan, Peter will keep on watching over Queens.

 

At six p.m., there are still two hours left until sunrise, so crime hasn't really spiked up just yet. Most muggers tend to act once it's dark, and unfortunately Peter doesn't think he'll be around to stop them - even though he's out and about as Spider-Man, he doesn't want to push it and still make it back to the Compound in time for dinner, just to make sure Mr. Stark isn't suspicious. However, much to his surprise, Karen suddenly alerts him there's a shop being mugged by gunpoint a few blocks away from the rooftop he's resting on.

 

"Here we go!" he exclaims excitingly as he swings down.

 

He reaches the shop on record time; it's a small dollar store, and two masked but hurried-looking guys are doing the job by themselves. Through the glass window, Peter takes in the situation: one of the guy is pointing a gun at the poor lady behind the counter, who's collecting all the money, and a few civilians are on their knees and holding their hands up behind their heads as the second guy points another gun towards them.

 

Peter sticks himself to the wall behind the door and opens it quietly, entering the shop and quickly climbing to the ceiling. A few of the civilians notice him while the first mugger yells at the lady to hurry up, and the other guy remains oblivious to the situation.

 

Peter clears his throat audibly.

 

"Sorry to interrupt guys," he says cheerfully. "But that's _not_ cool."

 

Once he has their attention, he quickly shots two webs and pulls, snatching the guns away from their hands before they can shoot at him or anyone else.

 

He webs them up with a second shot which wraps up their upper bodies, from waist to shoulders, and with an effortless flip, Peter drops in front of the civilians, who in turn start to run towards the exit. He's distracted for a mere second when an old lady trips while making her way out, and that's enough for one of the muggers to erase the distance between then with a brutal yell and headbutt Peter on the forehead.

 

"Ouch," he whimpers, stunned for a moment. That guy is _strong_.

 

He relays on his instincts alone to shot two webs, and once the acute wave of pain washes away, Peter looks around. With a pang of smugness, he notices he aimed it right - the two guys have their legs webbed up now, and are squirming on the floor defenceless.

 

Peter hears the muffled sound of police sirens and decides it's time to leave.

 

As if on cue, Karen soft voice speaks against his ears. " _There's a back door on the left side of the establishment that leads to an alley_."

 

"Thanks," he mutters hurriedly under his breath, still a bit dizzy.

 

" _It seems like you have a concussion_ ," Karen informs him as he opens the door and enters the empty alley.

 

"I'm fine," Peter replies, starting to climb up the wall to the rooftop. He does it quickly, which apparently wasn't a really good idea as his vision blacks out for a second and he stumbles around, trying to find his balance again.

 

Once his senses come back to him, including his hearing, he listens to Karen as the IA says, "...- _tark is calling_."

 

"What? Mr. Stark is calling?" he pants, suddenly feeling out of breath. He sits down right there on the floor, shaking his head even though it makes it spin even more. "No, Karen, don't pick it up! Don't-"

 

" _Peter Parker_."

 

"Shit-"

 

" _What did you just say?_ "

 

"N-Nothing, I was just-"

 

" _You know what, forget it_ ," Mr. Stark interrupts him with a snap. " _What the hell you think you're doing?_ "

 

"I was just- I- Ned and I were-"

 

" _Don't you_ dare _lie to me, I know where you are_ ," Mr. Stark snaps once again, raising his voice. " _I was suddenly called out of a meeting because FRIDAY told me you have a concussion? Can't you follow simple instructions-_ "

 

"I'm fine! Seriously, I just hit my head, but I'm fine-"

 

" _A guy headbutted you while you were healing from a serious fucking concussion_ ," Mr. Stark yells, and Peter cringes, starting to regret every single decision he's made so far. " _Do you have a death wish? Is that it? Because I'm seriously starting to think-_ "

 

"N-No, I just, I-I was feeling really better and I just thought I could-"

 

" _No, that's where you're wrong, you didn't think. I told you to do_ one _thing, but you just had do to the opposite and almost get yourself killed_."

 

"You're over exaggerating, it didn't even hurt-"

 

" _Oh, we're talking back now?_ "

 

Peter cringes to himself again. "N-No, I-"

 

" _You know what, we're going back to the good old times and I'm getting back the suit. If you're not mature enough to control yourself, I'll keep it so that you don't end up killing yourself-_ "

 

Peter stutters, gesturing with his hands as if Mr. Stark could see him. "But- until when? Please, I won't do it again, I'm sorry-"

 

" _Until summer's over sounds good to you?_ "

 

Peter's heart drops, and he shoots up from the ground. "No, no, no, please, I'm sorry-"

 

" _Not gonna work_ ," Mr. Stark says brusquely. " _Now, you're going to stay exactly where you are and-"_

 

"N-No wait, please, please, don't get the suit away, I'll be good, I'm sorry," Peter insists, pacing around the rooftop and gesturing like crazy. Mr. Stark sounds _so_ mad at him, and even though Peter remembers all about the ferry accident when they weren't really that close yet, he feels like that doesn't even come close to the current situation. He gets that the man is probably worried, and mad that the reason Peter got hurt is because he didn't follow what he said, but there's no need to take the suit away from him! He's _fine_.

 

" _If you had listened to me in the first place_ -"

 

"Please, I-I really need it, and summer's barely started, please," he continues on rambling, the still working - and probably irrational - part of his brain telling him that the much he tries, the greater the chance is of Mr. Stark reconsidering it.

 

" _I've already said_ -"

 

"I know but I promise I'm fine, it doesn't even hurt-"

 

" _That's not the only problem, you didn't listen_ -"

 

"Please please please, dad, I'm sorry, I won't do it again-"

 

" _Peter_ -"

 

"Please, I swear-"

 

" _That's enough!_ "

 

Peter finally quiets down, understanding he's crossed the line. He holds back a curse and the urge of hitting himself - now Mr. Stark won't give him the suit ever again. Probably.

 

" _You're going to stay right where you are and Happy's gonna pick you up_ ," Mr. Stark continues, speaking aggressively, clearly not a tiny bit amused by the whole situation. " _You're lucky I'm busy right now and can't come myself, but I'll meet you at home. Are we clear?_ "

 

"...Yes, sir," Peter mutters in response.

 

" _Good_."

 

The call ends.

 

It's only thirty minutes later, when Peter's going down to meet Happy, that he notices he referred to Mr. Stark as _that_ , but it's too late to fix it.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! sorry about the late chapter, but (a late) merry christmas and happy 2019! i hope you guys are having a great time :D
> 
> anyways, i hope you enjoyed this chapter! see ya in the next one!
> 
> (also, i was going to post a holiday themed oneshot like i mentioned in the last chapter's notes, but unfortunately i didn't have the time :( i'll try to post something else soon though)


	7. 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony can't stay mad at him for too long.

When Tony finally steps into the Compound, the lights are dim and the ample shared living space is almost empty if it wasn't for Natasha and Bruce talking quietly on one of the couches with drinks on their hands. At the sound of his footsteps they instantly turn around, offering him friendly smiles - that is, Bruce smiles. Natasha just gives him some sort of nod Tony has come to identify as a her friendly way of saying hello.

 

"Late night, huh?" the doctor asks as a greeting.

 

"Yeah," Tony sighs, not caring if he's interrupting an important conversation as he plops down on one of the armchairs - he's too exhausted. "I gotta help Pep."

 

"She's still travelling?" Natasha asks conversationally. "Or does she just don't want to be around a bunch of superheroes?"

 

"Nah, she loves you guys. They're still bugging her about a bunch of things in D.C., but she should be back soon," he answers, playing with a loose thread on the hem of his jacket.

 

Bruce hums in response and then they're in silence for a few moments, interrupted when Natasha leans forwards to pour Tony a drink. He accepts it with a mumbled thanks, then takes a long sip as he leans back against the seat.

 

He looks around and sighs. "Where's the kid?"

 

"Well, it's half past two, he's been in bed for a long time now," Bruce informs him. Before Tony can open his mouth to say anything else, he continues, "And I checked his head, don't worry. It messed a bit up with the stitches on the back but he barely doesn't need them anymore. He got a minor concussion, that's all, but he should be perfectly fine in the morning."

 

Tony lets out another sigh, this time bringing a bit of relief into the whole frustration-situation going on. Yeah, he hadn't meant to lose his temper like that, but when FRIDAY suddenly notified him in the middle of a meeting that ' _According to Karen, Peter has suffered a concussion and needs immediate medical attention_ ', when he thought Peter was, god knows, playing with legos or watching horror movies with his friend, Tony instantly felt his heartbeat pick up and it all went downhill from there. He probably even aged a few years prematurely right then. He could only calm himself down after their quite chaotic phone call, and even though hearing Peter argue back angered him even more, it brought him comfort - if he could talk back, it meant his head was probably fine.

 

Still, that isn't the main problem. What bugs him more than anything is that the kid went against something he said and even had the _audacity_ of asking FRIDAY to lie to him. And that isn't even the _worst_ part; it all happened after Peter started to avoid him, and it could only mean he had find out the truth, and came to the very stupid conclusion that the best way to solve the mess was to pretend something had happened.

 

"Well," he finally says. "I'm not horrible enough to wake him up just to scream at him some more."

 

"Yeah. that's probably for the best," Bruce chuckles quietly. "He even left the suit in your lab, you know."

 

"He'd better," Tony mumbles. "He's not getting that back very soon."

 

Natasha hums, and turns to look at Bruce. "You know, if you said Peter's head doing fine, why has he been acting so strangely these past few days?"

 

Bruce frowns at the same time Tony tenses on his seat.

 

Yup, there we go.

 

"What?" Bruce looks between them confusedly. "I've run all the tests. I can assure you he's fine, Tony, there's no need to worry-"

 

"No, Nat is right," he admits, avoiding eye contact for a moment. "Something happened to him and no one realized, but that's not your fault, doc. Don't worry."

 

"What- What? But what happened?" Bruce inquires, looking more stressed out at each passed second. Natasha joins him but simply looks at Tony puzzedly.

 

"Listen, I didn't know it at first either," he says, lowering down his voice. "I found out the other day after asking FRIDAY about it. So, apparently, when Peter hit his head, he had a little memory blackout and couldn't remember anything," Tony drops the bomb, watching patiently as the two superheroes sitting in front of him stare back at him speechless. "Trust me, I know. And the thing is, he thought it was a brilliant idea not to tell anyone, and started remembering things on his own," he sighs, taking another sip of his drink before continuing, "But, uh, he kind of made some wrong assumptions along the way."

 

They seem to come to the same conclusion at the same time.

 

It's Natasha who asks for confirmation. "That's why he called you his dad?"

 

"Yup," he nods, a bit awkwardly. "Kid saw me taking care of him and must've thought I was his parent."

 

"That's..." Bruce begins with a small smile, then shakes his head. "It's kind of adorable."

 

"It is," Natasha nods, bringing her cup to her lips.

"Yeah, kid can't help it but be the definition of endearing," Tony sighs, this time a bit amusedly. You can count on Peter Parker to turn something simple into a huge mess, but he was already getting used to it. After all, Tony had to admit he was pretty much the same. "Just don't tell the others, 'kay? I think he's remembered everything by now, and he doesn't need to suffer more. I'll take care of that myself."

 

Bruce chuckles then smiles at him. "Don't worry about it," he says.

  


 

.

  


 

 

Tony misses breakfast the next day as he wakes up a few minutes before he has to leave for a meeting. He's lucky it's the last day in a while he has to do something like this - Pepper is indeed out of town, and while she has a _long_ list of people that could be attending these meetings for her, she asked Tony to do it instead. Said she couldn't trust someone else with things of this importance.

 

He just couldn't say no to her.

 

Fortunately it doesn't last that long, and when he comes back, it's already lunch time. Or, rather, the end of it.

 

Most of the team has already eaten and are gone, but some of them remained behind. Tony notices Peter right away when he steps into the room - the boy doesn't notice him, but he's already his making his way out towards his room.

 

"You," Tony calls out loud and quickly, making most people in the room jump on their seats. Peter freezes on spot, turning to look around with wide eyes. "Wait down in the lab. I'll grab something to eat and meet you there in a minute."

 

Peter nods, looking around with a facial expression that could only mean _well, I'm fucked_ , before heading towards the elevator and disappearing from sight when the doors close in front of him.

 

The ones in the room look at him amusedly, while Tony simply rolls his eyes and starts to make a sandwich. "I'm not going to kill him down there, don't worry."

 

"I think that's exactly what he thinks you're going to do," Steve says from the other side of the room, not taking his eyes off a book on his hands.

 

"Good," Tony nods.

 

He eats most of the sandwich on the way down to the lab, and takes his time to finish it once he enters it. Peter's sitting on his own desk to examine his still-on-progress drone, with his back turned towards the door. However, Tony is sure the kid knows he's there - his super hearing probably picked up his footsteps from the end of the corridor when he exited the elevator.

 

"Have you tested it already?" Tony asks when he's done with his food, throwing away his napkin on the nearest trash bin.

 

Peter shakes his head. "Not yet, I don't think it's ready."

 

A silent moment passes by.

 

Tony sighs. "Look at me."

 

Peter swivels around in his hair, looking defeated. He looks up at Tony, clearly fearful of what he's about to hear next.

 

"What were you _thinking_ , kiddo?" he inquires, but his voice is soft. "What did I tell you the first day you were back from the med bay?"

 

"No patrolling for a few days," Peter mumbles back. "That I had to take it easy."

 

Tony spreads his arms, a clear visual way of saying _then, the fuck?_

 

Peter groans. "I know, I'm _sorry_ , but I was really feeling better! My head didn't hurt anymore, I didn't feel sleepy during the afternoon, and I wasn't dizzy all the time. I thought you wouldn't mind."

 

"What you feel is different from what's actually going in there," Tony argues back, walking around his desk to drag his chair to seat in front of Peter. "Bruce is your doctor, and while your head is doing a lot better, it doesn't mean you're ready to risk yourself like that again. It could've ended in a really shitty way."

 

Peter nods, now looking down at his hands on his lap. "Sorry," he apologizes again with a mumble.

 

"You can't just… trust your instincts all the time," he continues, hoping Peter will get the hint. "You can't make assumptions without being sure of things."

 

"I won't do it again," Peter tells him quietly, apparently not understanding where he was hinting at. He looks up again. "I'm sorry."

 

At his regretful look, Tony lets it go.

 

They can talk about it later.

 

"I know you're sorry, you've already said it a dozen times," Tony rolls his eyes, raising a hand and reaching forwards to ruffle the Peter's hair. It actually makes the kid smile a little. "But you were still stupid, and I am keeping the suit for a while. Not until the end of summer, though, don't worry."

 

Peter beams at him, looking the opposite of the fearful teen sitting in that same chair a few seconds ago. "Oh my god, thank you! Until when? Two weeks? One week? I think three days are a good-"

 

"Two weeks," Tony interrupts. "You're now still healing from the concussion that guy gave you," he reminds him.

 

"Yeah yeah yeah yeah, of course," Peter blurts out, seemingly over the moon for the fact he will reunite with the suit soon enough. "Sounds good."

 

Tony chuckles, shaking his head as he stands up to drag his chair back. "Now, since you don't have any duties today, why don't ya help me with some things?"

 

Peter drags his chair near Tony's desk in a blink of an eye as a response.

  
  


 

.

  
  


 

 

The lab is located on the first underground floor, and consequently there's no way of knowing what time is it unless one of them bothers to check - which is what ends up happening. After showing Peter what he's working on for a new suit and explaining a few technical things, which takes a bit of time, they work together on some ideas the kid had for his own suit. All of them need improvement and some changes, but like always Tony is impressed by what the kid came up with on his own - even if it meant he was doing that instead of completing his summer homework.

 

Honestly, he doesn't know how much time has passed from their little heartfelt conversation after lunch to when FRIDAY suddenly announces Bruce is coming in. Explaining things to Peter and listening to him talk his soul away about everything and anything that he deems worth mentioning while they work make him forget about checking the time.

 

"Hey, guys," the doctor greets them, playing with his glasses on his hands as he curiously approaches to see what they're working on. "See you're still pretty focused."

 

"Yeah, we're almost finished," Peter replies, not bothering to look up. He's squinting his eyes behind the funny-looking goggles and awkwardly moving his hands inside the gloves Tony made him wear for safety reasons while using the soldering iron.

 

"I doubt that," Bruce chuckles.

 

"We'll be up in time for dinner," Tony says. "Can't let underoos starve."

 

"We've already had dinner," Bruce informs him amusedly.

 

Tony pauses. Then shrugs. "We'll order some pizza," he decides. "Watcha think, kid?"

 

"Can we order Domino's this time?"

 

"Sure," Tony nods. "FRIDAY, can you order the usual for me? Don't feel like doing it myself today."

 

" _Sure, boss. How many should I order?_ "

 

"I think we'll be good with eight. I'm a hundred percent sure everyone else will want some."

 

" _Of course_."

 

Tony then stands up and walks around his desk while cleaning his hands in a old grey t-shirt, which he then uses to hit Peter playfully on the back. "Time to go, put that away," he says. "Go take a shower before food arrives, yeah? You look like you just wrestled with a car."

 

Peter laughs, starting to put away his things as he was told to. "You too, though."

 

Tony rolls his eyes, hitting him on the back once again to make him hurry up. Peter jogs to the door with a laugh in response, disappearing from sight in a matter of seconds.

 

"Have you talked to him?" Bruce asks as he watches Tony puts his own stuff in order. "About the whole amnesia situation? I was hoping I could run some tests. Now that I know about it I can check for more damage."

 

Tony shakes his head. "No, not yet," he says. "Didn't feel like the right time. But, yeah, I'd like that. I'm going to try and talk to him after dinner, and tomorrow morning he's all yours."

 

"I'm counting on that," Bruce smiles. And then, as he turns away to leave, "And on that pizza, too. Save some for me."

 

 

 

 

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here you go!!! have some fluff!!!
> 
> so,,, the end is near! i just wanted to let you guys know the next chapter will probably be the last one, and then there will be an epilogue :D sorry for the suspense
> 
> also, in case you guys are wondering, i'm writing and planning to post another chaptered fic with tony and petey, but it's going to be way more angsty. i don't know when it'll be up, but i'm sure it's only after i'm finished with this one. just a heads up! 
> 
> thank you so much for the kudos and lovely comments! 
> 
> (again reminding you that this fic only has my lazy self as an editor, so sorry for any mistakes)

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! chapter 2 should be up soon :-)


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